Vending-machine.



No.738 ,685. PATENTED SBPT.8,1903.

' D. JAMES."

VENDING MACHINE.

urmouzon 111.31) 00121, 1902.

i0 MODEL.

2 SHBBTS-SEEET 1.

mam-lattoam e13 in: norms PETERS momuiuu. wnsmNo'roN. a c.

UNITED TATES- Patented September 8, 1903.

DAVID JAMES, on COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS.

f j .vEN olNefmAol-lm E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of L'etters l' atent No. 738,685, datedSeptember 8, 1903. Application filed October 27, 1902. Serial No.129,016. (No modeLY To all whom it may concern.-

Be. it known that I, DAVIDJAMES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Coffeyville, inthecounty of Montgomeryand State ofKansas,have invented a new and usefulVending-Machine, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My. present invention relates to a novel vending-machine, and'has forits object to provide a machine of its Character capable of eifecti velyseparating and delivering cigars supplied to the m achine in theiroriginal packages 01 boxes.

It is well understood that cigars are packed inboxes row upon row andthat the pressure applied in the process of packing causes them to sticktogether and to assume various trans tendency to adhere to each other inthe origi-j nal package in any difficulties are encountered in theproduction of a machine for feeding and delivering them one at a timewith that certainty which .isabsolutely essential in coin-controlledvending devices.

To the accomplishment of the object stated I'have sought to overcomethese difficulties by providing, first, a novel form of means forseparatingone or more cigars from those in the box and for depositingthe cigars thus separated-in a chute, from which they are removed by afeed-slide; second, a novel arrangement of devices forloosening thecigars in the chute toprevent the choking thereof,

and, third, a novel feed-slide arranged to feed the cigars one at a timefrom the chute tosuitable delivering mechanism without the possibilityof having the working of the parts obstructed at any time by reason ofthe varying sizes of the cigars. r

r structural provisions which will appear dur- The invention alsoresides in certain other ing the succeeding description of thatembodiment of the invention which for the purpose of thisdisclosure isillustrated in the accompanying drawings and embraced within the scopeof the appended claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 isa side elevation of my vending-machine withparts of the casingbroken away and one side wall of the casing entirelyremoved. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View, certain positions orthe parts being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 3

is a front elevation of the machine with-the casing in section. Fig. 4is a rear elevation with the casing likewise in section and with certainparts broken away. Fig. 5 is a top plan view with parts broken away.Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the operating mechanism for oneof the detaching-plates. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one ofsaid plates. Fig. 8 is a sectional view through one of the plates,showing the manner inwhich frame of the machine includes a pair ofvertical side plates 3 and 4:, a base5, secured to the bottom of thecasing, a pair of horizontal partitions 6 and 7, a frontwall S, and avertical partition ,9. The horizontal partition 6 extends forwardlybeyond theplane of the disposed some distance in rear of thefront walland is preferably the downturned front end of the partition 7. Thisupper horizontal partition 7 constitutes the bottom wall of areceptacle. designed for the reception of cigar-box 10, the originalpackage in; which fifty or more cigars are packed. Beforethe box isplaced in the receptacle-its frontend is removed andits cover thrownbackq The thewihg thereof is yieldingly retained; and

parts thou ghout v front wall 8, and the vertical partition 9 isretention of the box within the receptacle is efiected by a pair ofbox-retainersor gripperplates 11, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) formed withvertical shoulders 12, constitutingabutments for the front edges of thebox sides. These gripper-plates 11 are secured at their rear ends to theside walls of the machine-frame, as in 2 upper. side would lie in aplane below the top of the feed-slide. If now a second cigar they areprovided with downward extensions 14, disposed between the partition 9and the front wall 8. (See Figs. 2 and 6.) The plates 11 are constructedof spring-metal, so that they grip the box, and being adjusted laterallyin accordance with the width thereof they not only retain said box, buttheir-front ends constitute the adjustable side walls of a chute 15,through which the cigars are dropped (as will presently appear) from thebox to a feed-slide 16, designed to convey them one at a time to asupporting-ledge 17, from whence they are delivered to a carrier 18. Thefeed-slide is. provided with an automatically-adjustable pocket 19 forthe reception of the cigars, said pocket being defined between the frontwall 20 0f the rear slide-section 21 and the rear wall 22 of the frontslidesection 23, as shown in Figs. 2 and 10. The sections of thefeed-slide 16 are slidably supported upon the partition 6, and the sidearms 24 of the front section 23 extend along opposite sides of the rearsection 21 and are provided with rectangular openings 25, through whichextends a transverse shaft 26, connected to the rear slide-section 21and projecting through cam-slots 27 in the opposite sidewalls 3 and 4 ofthe machine-frame. (See Figs. 1, 9, and 10.) The slots or openings 25 inthe side arms 24 of the front section are of a length sufficient toprovide any desired adjustment of the pocket 19, since it will beevident that when the rear slidesection is moved forward by the pitmen28, connected to the outer ends of the shaft 26, (see Figs. 1 and 10,)the size of the pocket will be decreased by the forward movement of thewall 22 until said shaft comes into contact with the front ends of theslots or openings 25, when, as will be evident, both sections of theslide will move forward to feed a cigar from the bottom of the chute 15to the supporting-ledge 17, beyond the front wall 8. Ordinarily,however, the cigar deposited in the pocket of the slide will be too wideto permit the shaft 26 to contact with the front ends of lhe openings25; but the effect will be the same, because the front wall of the rearslidesection will engage the cigar and through it will effect theadvance movement of the front section of the slide. Thus the width ofthe pocket is automatically adjustable to accommodate' cigars ofdifferent shapes and sizes, andthe pocket being thus adjusted to fitclosely any cigar which may be dropped into -it the accidental deliveryof more than one cigar will beprevented. Besides this relative movementof the two slidesections in the direction of the forward travel of theslide I have provided for a limited rise and fall of the rear section.),It will'be observed that in the event of a comparatively small cigarbeing dropped into the pocket of the slide its should rest upon the onein the chute, the rear wall of the pocket would be disposed behind theupper or second cigar, and the latter upon the advance movement of theslide would be clamped against the, front wall 8 or against the othercigars interposed between said second or upper cigar and the front wall.This would of course arrest the movement of the slide and interfere withthe proper operation of the machine. To prevent this, it is necessaryfor the top of the rear slide-section to be depressed below the upperedge of the smallest cigar capable of being fed to the pocket; but ifthe section should be maintained permanently in this depressed positiona similar difficulty would be met in the return stroke of the slide-thatis to say, if a comparatively large cigar should drop into the pocketduring the backward movement of the slide it would project above the topof the rear slidesection. A second cigar resting upon the top of therear slide-section in rear of the pocket would thus be caught betweenthe upwardlyprotruding cigar in the pocket and the back wall 9 of thechute, thus obstructing the return movement of the slide and preventingthe proper operation of the machine. To overcome these possibleobstructions, the camslots 27 are so constructed that shortly after theadvance movement has begun the rear slide-section, which, as beforestated, is fixed to the shaft extending through the slots, will begin todescend, so that it will be depressed belowthe upper edge of the cigarin the pocket, and thus prevent a superimposed cigar from being caughtbetween the wall 22 of the rear slide-section and the front wall of thechute 15. As will be noted from the form of the slot in Fig. 1, thisdownward movement of the rear slide-section continues until the rearwall of the pocket has advanced to a point adjacent to the front wall 8,at which time the rear section rises again to close the space whichwould otherwise be formed at the lower edge of the front wall, and withthe parts thus disposed the slide continues its forward movement todeposit the cigar upon the ledge 17. The reverse of the describedmovement will take place during the retraction of the slide. The rearsection, connected to the shaft 26, will move back a slight, distanceindependently of the front section, the shaft 26 traveling from one endto the other of the slots 27. (See Fig. 10.) This will increase thewidth of the pocket, and the two sections of the slide will move back inunison. As soon, however, as the front end of the rear section passesthe front wall it will descend and will almost immediately begin anascent as the shaft begins to travel .up the comparatively long inclinedportions of the slots 27. If, therefore, a comparatively large cigar islodged in the pocket and another cigar is resting on the rearslidesection, the rise of the latter will throw the uppermost cigarupwardly away from its obstructing position in rear of the cigar in theobserved in this connection thatthe slots 25 i win the arms 24 of thefront slide-section are so proportioned that the shaft 26, to which therear slide-section is rigidly connected, may

have sufficient independent play both horizontally and vertically toprovide for those 1 independent movements'of the rear slide-sectionwhich have been described: i

To insure smooth working of the parts, the top wall of the rearslide-section is received within a suitable guide 29, extending betweenthe rear ends of the arms 24 of the frontsection, and the wall 6 isprovided with an elevated rest for the support of the rear wall 22 ofthe pocket when the slide is in its retracted position, as shown in Fig.2.

t escapeof a cigar from the ledge 17 after it I 5 has been deliveredthereto by the advance of the feed-slide. From the front of the holder32 project a pair of trip-arms 35, disposed. in the path of a trip-bar36, movable with the 1 carrier 18, whereby the depression of the carrierwill effect the swinging of the holder to withdraw the wall 31 from inadvance of the ledge 17, andthus permit the passage of the cigar fromsaidledge to the carrier in a man ner to be explained.

Since the devices for effecting the feed of the cigars from the box orreceptacle to the chute 15 and for insuring-their proper passage throughthe chute to the pocket of the slide are intimately associated with andtimed for operation in a predetermined order with rela- .tion to themovements of the slide, Ishall now describe these several devices andthe manner in which they are operated and will then make plain theconstruction of the car rierand the manner in which it is operated toconvey the cigars one at a time to the delivery-opening of the casingand the provisionforejecting the cigars from the carrier upon thearrival of the latter at the point of delivery.

Between a pair of bearing-ears 37, projecting fromthe front wall 8 ofthe frame at opposite sides of a slot 38, is pivoted a feed-lever 39,thelower end of which is connected to through a loop 40, fixed thereto.

the front extremity of the feed-slide "16as, for in stance, by havingits lower end extended (See Figs.

. 21and 3.) At a point below the fulcrum of 1 I the lever 39 areciprocatory feed-bar 41 is pivoted thereto, as indicated at 42. Thefeedbaris bent, as indicated in Fig. 2, to dispose the maj or portion ofits length ina plane sufficiently above the box of cigars, and the lunder side of this elevated portionis provided with-ratchet-teeth.Thefeed-bar 41 is passed r through a slot 43in follower-plate 44, the

- teeth of the banengaging with the loweredge of the slot. Thefollower-plate 44 is disposed vertically within the box behind thecigars and is pendent from a bearing-sleeve 45, movable upon a rack-bar46 and provided with a spring-detent 47, engaging with the teeth of rthe rack-bar to prevent backward movement of the follower-plate. Therack-bar 46 may .be mounted in various ways, but, as illustrated in Fig.2, its front end is preferably secured to the front wall 8 by means ofthe pintle 4S, constituting the fulcrum of the feedlever, the rear endof the bar 46 being attached to a frame-plate 49, designed to constitutea rear abutment for the box 10 and connected at its opposite ends to apair of lon gitudinally-disposed side bars 50, connected at their frontends to the front wall 8 in any suitable manner. It is to be observedthat therack-bar 46, the side bars 50, and the plate 49 constitute alongitudinally-disposed frame, connected at its front end to wall 8,supported at itsv rear end by the rear end wall of the box 10, andserving as a support for the'follower-plate, the plate 49 being slottedto permit the passage therethrough of the rear end of the feed-bar 41.(See Figs. 1, 2, and 4.) Obviously whenever the feed slide 16 is movedforward it will cause the feed-lever 39 to be swung and the feed-bar 41to be drawn endwise for the purpose of advancing the follower-plate 44.As the plate advances the detent 47 will engage the next succeedingtooth of the rack-bar 46 to prevent rearward movement of the plate, andas the feed-slide 16 is retracted the feed-bar 41 will be moved rearwardindependently of the follower-plate to bring a succeeding tooth intoengagement with the latter. As the operation is repeated the follower-plate will be advanced step by step to insure the delivery of thecigars from the box, the length of the teeth of the feed-bar 41beingsuch as to require several advance movements of the follower-plateto effect its progression a distance equal to the width of a cigar,since the feed of the plate the distance of one cigar will expel the endcigar of the bottom row and such others as may be supported by it.

It has been mentioned heretofore that the cigars are packed so closelyin the box that they constitute, in effect, a solid body, and thereforeit frequently happens that when the follower-plate is advancedsufficiently to cause the first vertical row of cigars to be fed beyondthe end of the box they will not detach themselves by their ownweight,this tendency of the cigars to cling together being furtheraugmented by their somewhat irregular arrangement, the several cigars ofthe advanced row being supported more or less by the cigars in rearthereof. I have therefore provided what may be termed detachingmechanism, which as one or more cigars are advanced to the chute 15 willeffect their detachment from the body ofcigars in thebox.

This detaching mechanism in thejpresent 1 embodiment of the inventioncomprises a pair :01 detaching-plates mounted upon the inner faces ofthe gripper-plates 11- in advance of the abutments 12 for the front ofthe box. The plates 51 are'designed to have reciprothe wings thus engagethe cigars during the retraction of the plates, they yieldagainst theresistance of the springs 53 and lie flat against the inner faces of theplates, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 8. Having passed in rear ofthe reduced ends of the cigars, however, the wings will spring back totheir outstanding positions and as the plates are moved forward willengage and detach the cigars, the folding of the wings in the reversedirection being prevented by stop-lugs 54, integral with said wings anddisposed to bear against the face of the adjacent detaching-plate, asindicated in Figs. 7 and S. These detachingplates are designed to beretracted during the final portion of the advance movement of thefeed-slide, and likewise during the advance movement of thefollower-plate, and to be moved forward to effect the detachment of thefollower-plate is at rest. movement of the detaching-plates, they arethe cigars during thefinal portion of the retractile movement of theslide, at which time To effect such connected to slides 55, movable inguide-slots 56 in the plates 11, and to these slides are connected theupper ends of levers 57, ful- 1 crnmed upon the plates 11 (see Fig. 6)and having their lower extremities connected to rearwardly-extendingpitmen 58. Each pitman is provided at its rear end with an angularextremity 59, received by a guide-loop guards 61.

'60, upstanding from the rear section of the feed-slide, thedisengagement of these ends 59 from the guide-loops being prevented byWhen the feed-slide is in. its

. completely-retracted position, the detachingslide is moved forward, itwill not effect the, movement of the plates until the rear ends plateswill be at the limit of their advance movement, as shown in Fig. 2.Ifnow the of the guide-loops come into contact with the ends 59 of thepitmen 58, when, as will be evident, the pitmen will be moved forward,

- the levers 57 will be swung, and the detaching-plates will beretracted during the final advance movement of the feed-slide. larly theadvance of the detaching-plates Simiwill not be effected until theretractile move-- ment of the feed-slide has progressed sufficiently tobring the front ends of the guideloops 60 into engagement with the endsof the I pitmen, at which time the pitmen will be retracted to swing thelevers 57 in the reverse direction, and thereby effect the advance ofthe detaching-plates to detach the front row "retreat of cigars or suchof said cigars as may be engaged by the wings as the slide completes itsretractile movement. The action of these detaching-plates is ordinarilyeffective to cause the proper detachment of several cigars and theirdelivery to the chute 15. It sometimes happens, however, particularly indetaching the first or last rows of cigarsin a box, which areapproximately straight, that the four cigars constituting such row willbe detached from those in the box, but will stick-to each other, andinstead of droppinginto the chute from the end of the box will tilt orswing,

a the upper cigar striking against the front wall of the chute beforethe lower cigar of the row is completely discharged from the box, thusbringing the cigars across the top of the chute. This isof courseobjectionable, as it interferes with the regularity of the feed andtends to clog the chute. To overcome this difficulty, I providea'flexible guard 62, located justin advance ofthe box and comprising aseries of transverse strips connected by links, as shown in Fig. 2. Theguard 62 is pendent from a rod 63, adjustably supported by the bars 50,provided with upstanding brackets 64, each of which is formed with ahorizontal series of openings 65 for the reception of the ends of therod.63. The provision of these openings in the brackets enables theflexible guard 62 to be supported at any desired distancefrom the end ofthe cigar-box. As a vertical row of cigars is detached by thedetaching-plates they will be brought into c011- tact with this guard,which will prevent them from being swung out in the manner described andwill compel the row to drop vertically into the chute. Having thusassured the proper delivery of the cigars from the box to the chuteabove the feed-slide, it becomes necessary to prevent the choking ofthechute. This most frequently results from. the assumption of suchpositions bytwo or more cigars as will prevent themfrom droppingproperly when the pocket of the feed-slide is presented in positionunder the chute. This -.character of obstruction is obviated by theprovision at the front side of the chute of a vertically reciprocatinglooseningplate 66, provided with cars 67, extended forwardly throughslots 68 in the wall 8 and connected to the upper extremities of aninverted bail 69, connected at its lower end to the front edge of thefeedslide, as indicated at 70. Thus'as the slide is advanced this platewill be moved downwardly and such cigars as rest against it will berolled or turned, a similar eifect being produced as the plate iselevated by the retraction of the slide. This moving .of the cigarsadjacent to the front side'of the chute will effect-the loosening ofthe. cigars above the feed-slide to insure the delivery of one of themto the subjacent pocket. There is a still furtherpossibility ofderangement due to the peculiar characteristics of cigars, which, whilemore or less remote, must nevertheless be taken into consideration and.pro- ICC IIC

vided for. The elevation of the top wall of the front feed-slide sectionis designed to be such that the largest cigars to be handled will notproject above it. The peculiarlyirregular shapes assumed by packedcigars, however, renders it possible for a cigar to lie in'such positionin the pocket thatits abnormal width in one direction will cause it toprotrude above the front section of the slide,

and in this unusual event a cigar would per haps be caught between thisprojecting portion of the cigar in the pocket and the front .Fig. 5) isprovided with a'pair of forwardlyextending arms 7 2, pivoted at theirfront ends to bearing-brackets 73,3pr0jecting from the front wall S, theaxis of movement being 10- cated near the horizontal plane 'of the loweredge of the plate 71. Should a cigar be forced against this plate,'thepressure will cause said plate to swing upwardly, causing the cigar tobe rolled back in an obvious manner. It is necessary, however, tomaintain the closure fof the openingbelowthe edge of'the wall 8 i 7while the buffer-plate 71 rises. I therefore mount in rear 'of the plate71 a swinging guard-plate 74, having forwardly-extending arms75, mountedon a pintle 76, common to the arms of both plates 71 and 7 4. The arms75 are provided with ends 77, extended for wardly beyond the axes ofmovement of the two plates and disposed to rest upon the front plate.

thereof riding under the rear portions of the end of the feed-slide whenthe latter is in its 1 extreme forward position, so that the guardplatewill be held down close to the top of the :rear slide-sectiomwhich inthis position of the parts will be located directly under the As theslide is retracted the front end arms of both plates will raise them, sothat when the feed-slide iscompletely retracted the plates will restupon the top of the front section thereof.

- insuring the proper feed of the cigars from a Having now described thefeedslide and the various a'djunctive feeding devices for box to theslide and their delivery from the from.

the numeral 18) is intended, as stated, to conslide to the carrier, Ishall now proceed with the description of the carrier and of the mechveycigars one at a time from the machine to the delivery-opening in thecasing, where they are discharged and delivered to 11116V6I1d66.

The carrier comprises a support 7 8, extending ing. trip-arms 85 of theejector are brought into} top of the casing in advance thereof. fcarrierthen descends and the ejector and cover drop back to their normalpositions in transversely across the machine in front thereof, andpivotallysecured as indicated at 79, to the front ends of a pair ofswinging arms 80, located at opposite sides of the machine-frame andhaving pivotal connection at their rear ends therewith adjacent to theupper rear corners thereof. As the support 78 is designed to support thecigar during the movements of the carrier, it is essential that itshould be maintained in an approximately the arms and rods is slightlygreater than the distance separating their front ends-that horizontalposition during its movement. This end is accomplished by forming thesupport with pendent arms 81, to which are pivis to say, while the arms80 and rods 83 are disposed nearly parallel they diverge slightly towardtheir rear ends, and therefore while the support is maintained in anapproximately horizontal position it is slightlytipped or tilted as itreaches the point of delivery.

Upon the support 78 is mounted a trans versely-curved ejector-plate 84,hinged at its front edge to the support and provided with trip-arms 85,which extend above and in front of the hinged connection. When thecarrier comes to rest in the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings,the rod 36, contacting with the trip-arms 35 of the holder 32, swingssaid holder and depresses the wall 31 below the plane of the ledge 17permitting the cigar to drop from said ledge into the ejector, which Thecarrier is then swung. upwardly in a manner to be described, presentingthe cigar at the delivery-opening in the top wall of the cas- As thecarrier reaches this position'the this tilting of the ejector will be tolift the.

hinged cover2 and to eject the cigar upon the The an obvious manner.

We now come to consider the construction and operation of the operatingmechanism by :means of which the carrier is made to deliver one cigarwhile another is being advanced to the ledge 17 prior to the return ofthe carrier. to its normal position.

that many forms of operating mechanism might be employed; but in thepresent embodiment of the' invention I utilize a two-part It is quiteevident shaft comprising a shaft proper (indicated by the numeral 86)and a surrounding sleeve 87. i The shaft 86 is disposed horizontally inrear of the machine and has hearings in suitable supporting-brackets 88.The sleeve 87,wl1ich is loose upon the shaft, is provided adjacent toits opposite ends with laterally-extending arms 89, to which are pivotedthe rear ends of the pitmen 28 for operating the feed-slide,

and the lower ends of. a pair of links 90, hav

ing their upper ends pivoted to the carrierarms 80 in advance of theirrear ends. Obviously, therefore, rotary movement of the sleeve willeffect the elevation of the carrier and the advance of the feed-slide16, various other movable parts of the machine being simultaneouslyoperated by reason of their connection with the slide, as We havealready seen. I

Since the connection between the feed-slide and its operating mechanismhas now been described, a further peculiarity in the operation of theslide may be intelligently explained. WVe have seen how the pocket inthe slide is enlarged while the slide is moving back and the carrier isbeing retracted and how the pocket is contracted While the carrier andslide are executing their advance movements. The peculiarity to whichreference is made is the widening of the pocket in the feed-slide justas the latter reaches the limit F of its forward movement and while thecarrier is being presented at the discharge-opening of the casing. Itwill be noted thatthe rear Wall of the slide-pocket is in engagementwith the cigar by reason of the fact that the pitmen 28 are urgingforward the rear section backward movement of the rear slide-section,with the result that the pocket in the slide will beslightly widened toinsure the dropping of the cigar from the pocket to the ledge 17. Thusat the-beginning of the forward movement of the slide the pocket iscontracted to grip the cigar, and at the end of such forward movementthe pocket is expanded to release the cigar. The necessary movement isimparted to the sleeve through the medium of the shaft 86, whichis'designed to be connected to the sleeve by a detent 91, pivoteduponthe sleeve (see Fig. 4) and having its beak 92 arranged to passthrough a-slot 93 in one wall of the sleeve and to engage a recess 94.in the shaft. When the detent is in its engaging position, the sleeve 87and shaft 86 are locked together and the rotation of the shaft willeffect a similar movement of the sleeve to operate the machine. At oneend of the shaft is provided, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a

crank-arm 95, to the wrist of which is connected the rear end of adraw-rod 96. The front end of tho draw-rod 96 is connected to anoperating-lever 97 f ulcrumed in a suitable bearing-bracket 98. Thedraw-'rod is designed to be reciprocated by the manual manipulation ofthe lever 97, and in order to insure the completion of the throw of thelever in one direction before it is moved back I provide a pivoteddetent 99, having ratchetteeth at its opposite edges designed to beengaged by a projection 100 on the lever. As will be obvious, thisdetent will dog the lever in either direction until it has reached thelimit of its movement, when the projection 100 will pass beyond the endof the detent to permit the latter to swing back. The lever may then 'bemoved in the opposite direction and during such movement will be doggedin a similar manner. Thus the lever having been once actuated to elevatethe carrier and effect the delivery of the cigar it will be impossibleto again move the lever in this direction until it has been completelyretracted for the purpose of again effecting the operation of themachine to supply the carrier with another cigar.

- To provide for the coin control of the ma chine thus described, thedetent 91 is provided upon its end opposite the beak 92 with acounterweight 101 and at its end opposite the counterweight with anupwardly-extending arm 102, provided with a coin-receiver 103. Normallythe counterweight 101 retains the detent in a position in which the beak92 will not extend into the recess 94 in the shaft 86, and the operationof the operating-lever 97 will not, therefore, operate the machine todeliver a cigar. If, however, a coin of the proper value is deposited inthe receiver 103, the weight 101 will be overcome and the detent will bemoved to connect the shaft and sleeve, the coin thus acting as a weightthrough the instrumentality of which the machine is coupled to itsoperating mechanism by the coupling of the members of the two-partshaft, constituted by the shaft and sleeve 86 and 87, respectively, asheretofore stated. For

the purpose of leading the coin from a coinslot a in the casing to thereceiver I provide a coin chute or race 104, (see Fig. 1,) whichterminates immediately above the receiver. It will be evident that whenthe coin is deposited in the opening a it will pass downthe race 104.and drop into the coin-receiver 103. The weight of the coin will movethe detent to connect the shaft and sleeve, and as the draw-rod 96 isadvanced the shaft and sleeve will rotate. Now as the detent is carriedby the sleeve and in turn supports the coin-receiver it is evident thatas the machine is operated the receiver will move away from the lowerend of the race 104 and will assume a position in which the coin willdrop from the receiver, and the parts will be moved back to their normalpositions.

It will now appear that if a coin is dropped into the'race 104: beforethe receiver has returned to its normal position said coin will dropinto the bottom of the casing and will not serve to permit a succeedingoperation of the machine. To avoid thiscontingency, I provide a swingingguard 105, pivoted at its upper end, as indicated at 106, to a bracket107, upstanding from the lower end of the race 104. This guard isarranged to gravitate into position to close the lower end of the racewhenever the coin-receiver is moved away and is moved to its inoperativeposition by a guardbperating fingerlOS, extending from the sleeve 87immediately in advance of the coin-receiver 103. Thus the guard willnormally be held away from the end of the race by the finger; but whenthe receiver moves rearwardly during the operation of the machine thefinger 108, also moving with the sleeve, will permit the guard 87 toswing back to guard the lower end of the race, and as j thereceiverreturns the guard will be displaced by the finger 108 to permit the cointo drop, into the receiver in an obviousmanner.

. It is thought that from the foregoing the construction and operationof my vending- L machine will be clearlyapparent; but while theillustrated embodiment of the invention is believed at this time to bepreferable I wish to be distinctly understood as reserving to myself-theright to effect such changes,

modifications, and variations of the illustrated structure as maybefairly embraced within the scope of the protection prayed.

What I claim is- 1. In a vending-machine, the combination 1 with a chutedesigned to contain cigars to be oi gar.

vended, of a feed-slide designed to remove the cigars one at a time fromthe chute and havinga pocket, means for conveying the cigars to a pointof delivery, said means including a carrier, and means operated duringthe movementof the carrier toward the point of delivery for contractingthe pocket of the feedslide to grip a cigar and to thereafter expand thepocket to permit of the discharge of the 2. In a vending-machine, thecombination with a chute designed to contain cigars, of a feed-slideprovided with a pocket and composed of relatively movable sections,means 1 including a carrier for effecting the transfer of a cigar fromthe slide to a point of delivery, and means operated during the advanceof the carrier for imparting relative movement to the slide-sections toeffect the contraction of the pocket in the slide and the subsequentexpansion of said pocket to release a cigar.

3. In a vending-machine, the combination with a chute designed tocontain cigars, of a feed-slide for conveying the cigars one at a timefrom the chute,said slide being composed of sections capable of relativemovement both vertically andhorizontally and disposed to provideanintermediate pocket.

4. In a vending-machine, the combination with a chute designed tocontain cigars, of a horizontal feed-slide comprising separate sectionsdisposed to form an intermediate pocket, the rear section of the slidebeing movable both horizontally and vertically independently of thefront section thereof.

5. In a vending-machine, the combination with a vertically-disposedchute designed to contain cigars or the like, of a horizontal feedslidecomprising slide-section s disposed to define an intermediate pocket,means for ad- :vancing the feed-slide, and means operating during suchadvance movement to impart independent vertical movement to one'of theslide-sections.

6. In a vending-machine, the combination with a frame provided withcam-slots, a ver tical chute designed to contain cigars, and afeed-slide comprising separate slide-sections spaced to form anintermediate pocket; of a shaft connected to the rear slideseotion andextended through the cam-s1ots in the frame, means for reciprocating therear slide-section, and means for communicating motion from the rearsection of the slide to the front secrear section of the slide to thefront section.

thereof after predetermined independent movement of the rear section,pitmen connected to the outer ends of said shaft, and means foroperating the pitmen.

8. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute inadvance thereof,

and a feed-slide for conveying cigars one at a time from the chute, ofmeans for feeding the cigars within the receptacle toward the chute, adetaching device designed to engage and detach one or more cigars fromthe body of cigars in the receptacle, and means for operating thedetaching device and feed-slide.

9. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chutedisposed in advance thereof, and a feed-slide for conveying cigars oneat a time from the chute, of means for feeding the body of cigars withinthe receptacle toward the chute, reciprocatory detaching devices locatedat opposite sides of the chute and having engaging portions disposedtoeng'age the opposite ends of one or more cigars and to detach the samefrom the body of cigars in the receptacle, and means for op erating thedetaching devices and the feedslide.

10. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chutedisposed in advance thereof, and a feed-slide, of means for feeding thecigars within the receptacle toward the ICC chute, detaching devicesdisposed to engage and to detach one or more cigars and to deposit themin the chute, an operative connection between the detaching devices andthe feed-slide, and means for operating the slide.

11. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute,and afeed-slide, of means for feeding the cigars within the receptacletoward the chute, detaching-plates located at the opposite sides of thechute and having engaging portions disposed to engage one or morecigars, operating-levers for the detaching-plates, and pitmen havingoperative connection with the levers and feed-slide, respectively.

12. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute,and a feed-slide, of means for feeding the cigars within the receptacletoward the chute, detaching-plates located at the opposite sides of thechute and having engaging portions disposed to engage one or morecigars, operating-levers for the detaching-plates, pitmen connected tothe levers and having angular ends, and loops mounted on the feed-slideand engaging the angular ends of the pitmen.

13. In a vendingmachine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute, anda feed-slide, of means for feeding the cigars within the receptacletoward the chute, reciprocatory plates disposed at opposite sides of thechute, en-

gaging means mounted on the detachingplates, and means for operating theplates and slide.

14:. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute, afeed-slide, and means for feeding the cigars within the receptacletoward the chute, of detaching-plates located at-opposite sides of thechute and provided with spring-urged pivoted wings foldable against thedetaching-plates during the movement of the latter in one direction,stops for preventing the folding of the wings in the opposite direction,and means for operating the slide and detaching-plates.

15. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute,and a feed-slide, of means for feeding the cigars within the receptacletoward the chute, and a guard disposed at one end of the receptacle anddesigned to facilitate the delivery of the cigars from the receptacle tothe chute.

16. In a vending-machine, the combination with a' receptacle, a chute,and a feed-slide, of means for feeding the cigars within the receptacletoward the chute, anda flexible guard suspended at one end of thereceptacle and adjustable with reference thereto. i

17. In a vend ingmachine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute,and a feed-slide, of

means for feeding the cigars within the receptacle toward the chute,reciprocatory detachlng-plates disposed at opposite sides of the chuteand having engaging port-ions arranged to engage and detach the cigars,and a flexible guard suspended. between the detaching-plates.

18. In avending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a chute, afeed-slide, and means for feeding the cigars within the receptacletoward the chute, of means for positively detaching certain of thecigars from the body of cigars in'the receptacle to insure the deliveryof the detached cigars to the chute, and a loosening device movablewithin the chute to insure the delivery of the cigars from the chute tothe slide.

19. In a vending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a verticalchute, and a horizontal feed-slide below the chute, of a feeder withinthe receptacle, horizontally-reciprocatory detaching-plates located atopposite sides of the chute, a vertically-reciprocatory loosening-platelocated at the front side of the chute, and means for operating thedetaching and loosening plates from the feed-slide.

20. In avending-machine, the combination with a receptacle, a verticalchute, and a feedslide, of a feeder in the receptacle, reciprocatorydetaching plates and a reciprocatory loosening-plate in the chute, meansfor operating said plates from the feed-slide, and a flexible guardsuspended at one end of the receptacle.

21. In a vending-machine, the combination with a chute, and areciprocatory feed-slide designed to convey cigars one at a time fromthe chute, of a yielding buffer-plate located at the front side of thechute immediately above the feed-slide, and a guard disposed in advanceof the buffer-plate.

22. In avending-machine, the combination with a chute, and areciprocatory feed-slide disposed to convey cigars one at a time fromthe chute, of a yielding bufier-plate located at the front side of thechute immediately above the feed-slide, pivoted arms supporting thebuffer-plate, and a swinging guardplate disposed in advance of thebuffer-plate.

23. In avending-machine, the combination with a chute, and areciprocatory feed-slide disposed to convey cigars one at a time fromthe chute, of a yielding buffer-plate located at the front side of thechute immediately above the f eed-slide, pivoted arms supporting thebuffer-plate, a swinging guard-plate disposed in advance of thebuffer-plate, and pivoted arms supporting the guard-plate and disposedfor engagement with the feed-slide.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DAVID JAMES.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, BLANCI-IE KALDENBAOK.

